Socket for electric lamps.



J. CUTHBERT.

- SOCKET FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2, I9I5.

2 Patented Feb. 6, 1917.

III vr I I I J. CUTHBERT.

SOCKET FOR-ELECTRIC LAMPS.

APPLICATION mw DEc.2,1915.

lezleon l Peeented Feb. 6, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. e; 56

i A fix/672% JOHN CUTHBERT, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SOCKET FCR ELECTRIC LAMPS.

l Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. Cfr", 1191*?.

lApplication filed. December 2, 1915. Serial No. A611,634.

To all whom it may concern.'

y Be it known that I, JOHN CUTHBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, -in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sockets for Electric Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in sockets for electric lamps land other like translating devices.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved socket that may quickly and easily be wired without removing the shell or any part thereof.

Another object of my invention is to provide improved means for taking up the Slack of the wires, or cables within the shell and to securely hold said conductors in place after they have been properly connected to the socket terminals and arranged so as to relieve said terminal connections of undue strain by vany application of force or stress that may, at any time be applied tending to separate said parts. f

Another object of my invention is to decrease the cost of construction and to make the structure'more stable and durable.

Other and further objects of my invention will become readily apparent, to persons skilled in the art, from a consideration of the following'description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved socket.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged central section taken on line 2 2 of-F ig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. l

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on line 4 4.- of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5 5 of Fig.

Fig. 6 is a central section taken on 6 6 of Fig. 2. 4 Y

Fig. 7 is a transverse section taken on line 7 7 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is a central section taken'on-line 8 8 of Fig. 9.

Fig. `9 is a central section taken on line 9 9 of Fig. s.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a central line terminal detail. I Fig. 11 is a section taken on line 11 11 of Fig. 2. y o

1n all the-vlews the same reference charparts.

When installing the usual lamp socket it becomes necessary to disassemble the many parts thereof before access to the wire connecting terminals can be had. The parts being constructed with this end in view are necessarily more expensive .to produce and the wear, incident to frequent taking apart and reassembling, renders such Sockets relatively short-lived. After the wires have been clamped to the terminals of the ordinary socket said terminals and wires are hidden from view andare inaccessible until the shell has again been removed. A wire may, therefore, become loose or disconnected without any visible evidence of this fact.

ln my improved socket the terminals are plainly visible through the open end of the socket shell and can be carefully inspected when the translating device, or lamp is removed therefrom and through this opening the terminal binding screws may readily be tightened, to clamp the wires, by use of an ordinary screw` driver.

`Another advantage resulting from my new invention is the fact that the time required for the installation of sockets is very much less than necessary for installing sockets requiring removal of the shell parts for this purpose.

There is much less strain on the terminal screws of my new socket, than of the old style socket, when stress is applied to the socket tending to pull it from the wires, because, in my new sockets the wires are bent at right angles to the plane in which thev f are inserted, where they lie under the head of the terminal screws. Much of the strain is therefore resisted by the shoulders where the wires are thus bent and not altogether by the screws themselves.

For the purpose of clear disclosure li have illustrated a conventional form of socket without any intention whatever of confining my invention to the precise structure shown, wherein 20 is the socket; 21 is the major p0rtion of the shell or casing and 22 the minor portion thereof. 23 is the insulating lining. of the larger portion' of the shell and 24 is theinsulating lining ofthe smaller portion, as usual in sockets of this general character. The shell portions of the socket are shown to telescope at their juncture and may be secured together by any suitable means, rlhe interior insulating porcelain base or trally perforated as at 33 for a wire clampingy screw 34, and it is co`untersunk, as at 35, within which countersink the head of the screw may be received. The larger portion 32, of the contact 28 is contained between two porcelain ribs 36 and 37 joinedby a porcelain bridge 38 upon which the contact 28 rests. These ribs are integral parts of the porcelain block 25. The ribs 36 and 37 serve as insulations for separating the contact terminal 32 and screw 34 from the other electrical conducting portions of the socket. The upper end of the contact plate 28 rests directly upon and is supported by the bridge 38 that joins the ribs 36 and 37. A screw threaded lamp-engaging shell 40 is secured in the smaller portion of the casing 21, by screws 41 that are let into perforations 42 in the block 25. They pass into' screw threaded plates 43 and then into the inturned flange of the screw-threaded shell.

Another terminal binding screw 44 is located on the diametrically opposite side of the center or axis of the socket, and is substantially in the same horizontal plane with the binding screw 34 and below the plane of the ribs-36 and 37 and the joining bridge 38 of the porcelain block 25. The binding screw 44 is threaded into a relatively stationary metal part 45, that is secured to the porcelain block 25 and connected to the threaded shell 40. The part 45 is also concentrically counterbored to receive the head of the -screw 44 and within which to confine one of the circuit conductors or wires to be connected to the socket. The terminal plates 32'and 45 are each .perforated concentrically with the counter-bores for the respective terminal screws and are also perforated, as at 46, the perforations in each case terminating in the counter-bored ,portion of the terminal plates and Serve as means for conducting the electric circuit wires into said counter-bored portions. `The orcelain block 25 is also perforated, to reglster with the respective perforations 46, as at 48, for introduction of the wires 49-49 therein. These perforations, are tapered, at their outer ends, as at 50, as shown clearly in Fig. 4, the taper being preferably to one side of the axis of perforations 46 and extending toward the center of the socket. These tapered perforations serve as means for guiding the wires into the smallerparallel perforations when the wires are introduced through the angularly extending perfora- -`"uncovered portions tions provided in the bottom of the insulat-,65

. ing bushing 51. The bushing 51 is provided 'threaded through the perforations 54 and 53, respectively, provided in the bushing 51 they arefthereby directed into the tapered ends 50 of the perforations provided in the porcelain block 25. The insulated portions of the wires pass into the tapered apertures 50'-50'thus protecting the wires, and the through the relatively narrower parallel perforations which are continuations of the tapered perforations, and through the said narrower perforations they pass through the perforations 46-46 made through the terminal plates 45. From the perforations 46 they pass into the cutaway portions 57 of the heads of the screws 34 and 44, of Fig. 3, justin front of the shoulders 58 of said screws. The screws are now turned clockwise byy the use of an ordinary screw driver, introduced into the open or shell end of the socket, at which time 'the shoulders` 58 of the screws 34 and 44 engage the ends of the respective wires and bend them at substantial right angles and turn or bend them into substantially the shape of rings around the Shanks of the screws. A continuation of the turning of the screws serves to bind the wires between the plates 45 and the heads of the respective screws. The counter bored depressions in the plates prevent escape of the wires, and the screws by this means hold them firmly in place.

The wire terminal screw illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 forms the subject matter of of the wires pass ally projecting pins 58-58 that extend radially through the smaller hub portion 59 and which are slightly below the larger flange portion 60. The smaller hub portion 59,0f the bushing 51 passes through an orifice or openv ing 61 in the minor shell portion 22. Immediately surrounding the orifice 61 is a flat inwardly extending flange 63 provided with a series of cut away tongues 64. The bushingl is placed in the opening 61 by inserting the smaller or hub portion 59 therein and forcing the pins 58 inwardly beyond the tongues 64 and then turning the Lamme bushing 51 thereby twisting the wires 49-49, to some extent Within the socket, thus taking up the slack and putting the wires under some tension. The bushing 51 is prevented from'rotating in the opposite direction by the tongues 64 which serve as stops for the pins 58, as clearly shown in Fig. 11. To remove the bushing 51, and thereby to reduce the tension and to slacken the Wires Within the socket the tongues 64 must be displaced. This may b done by means of a sharp instrument, such as the point of a knife, that may be inserted under the flange 60 of the bushing to depress the tongues 64 after which the bushing may be turned slightly and pulled outwardly which will permit thehub to pass out from the orifice in which it Was primarily contained.

Twisting the Wires Within the socket, in

a manner described, Will add considerable to the resistance that will be thus interposed to their removal against any stress that may be applied to pull the socket from the Wires.

Having described my invention, what l claim is: l

A socket comprising ashell open at one end to receive a translating device and open at the other end to receive circuit Wires;

an insulating block within said shell, having perforations to receive said Wires; a rotatable bushing for insertion in the latter shell opening, having a plurality of perforations registrable with the perforations in said block, for a corresponding number of wires, and a vieldable ratchet means to permit the bushing to be rotated in one direction only, out of registration, to twistsaid Wires within said shell.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN CUTHBERT.

In the presence of- STANLEY W.'CooK, MARY F. ALLEN. 

